Species
The world of Gabriola is home to dozens of fully sentient and semi-sentient species. Most of these species have their own unique languages, although many might speak one or two other more common languages as well. Each has their own unique culture, homeland and pursue different things in life. Though most of the races in Legacy of Chaos are native to the continent of Gabriola, there are several species that aren't and these unique cases will be made clear; although most in Gabriola don't know the true origins of these species. The term species will refer to the overall base form of the being; the oldest known form. You may find the term subspecies used, Gabriolans define such as a morphologically unique population of a species that can clearly trace its lineage back to the original species. This is to differentiate from ethnicities which are a behavioural or culturally distinct population from the overall species but might be within the bounds of regular morphological plasticity. The archaic term race might also be used to denote a species, or a sub-sect of a species (like a distinct subspecies, ethnicity or group of seperated individuals) but is largely avoided in civilised Gabriolan literature. Distinct Species: A species can be considered distinct if it can not (under most circumstances) interbreed with other species. There are a few exceptions to this rule and those few offsprings of interbreeding are noted in their own section below. An extensive list of Distinct Species can be found at: Sentient Species. Interbreeding: While most species can not interbreed with each other due to morphological, natural or magical barriers between interbreeding there are some notable exceptions: Humans x Elves: Since their arrival upon Gabriola, Humans have been shown to be unusually capable of interbreeding with native Gabriolan species. The first examples of interbreeding between Humans and another species was with Elves, the blood of which can now be found in most Humans to some degree and actually has given the species the ability to manipulate Creation Inertia. Most contempory (and ancient) Half-Elves as they're commonly called are born from the Atannarian species of Elf breeding with the Svarjholder 'progenitor' Human ethnicity. There is an ever increasing population of Half-Elves in the Ravenheart lands, born of disenfranchised 'Northern' Humans fleeing south and settling in the Malhassari or the offspring of Elven mercenaries that sold their swords to the Karessi people and came back with more than they left with. Humans x Orcs: In relatively recent years Orcs have come into ever increasing contact with Humans. While Orcs have lived side-by-side with Human communities for centuries, they have always maintained a strict limited-contact stance of select-trade and raiding; most Humans fear Orcs and most Orcs despise the encroachment of Humanity. However, when the Svarjholders 'discovered' the southern lands they made contact with the Orcish clans. The Svarjholders came in search of things to pillage, and found instead a species that fought back with a brutality that could match even their own. After a short and bloody conflict, the two sides ordered a ceasefire and founded some common ground. The Orcs have since granted a small section of the southern coastline to the Svarjers, and a relatively high proportion of these settlers have found Orcish mates - and bore offspring that bare the name Half-Orc. Looked down upon by most Orcs and most Humans, the Half-Orcs are only granted peace amongst the Svarjholders that birthed them and the Horde Pact (although only officially, not all agree with the implied relations with Humans). Orcs x Elves: While the Elves of Kenelaith have found themselves allied to the Orcs of the Horde Pact, few of these Elves find a mate amongst the Orcs. These few couples find it hard to sire offspring, as it seems Orcs and Elves are much less compatible than either species breeding with a Human. Succesful offspring are often referred to as '''Pig-Nosed Elves''' as a derogative term, and recieve few rights throughout Gabriola. Elven/Orcish offspring outside of the Hordelands are even more rare and looked down upon, as few interactions between Elves and Orcs don't end in bloodshed without coin being passed between the two groups. Orcs x Ogres: An unusual mix, Orcs have been found to succesfully breed with Ogres. Although usually this is a result of inter-species aggression, the offspring of which is looked down upon by both groups. The '''Makk'nakeem''' as they are called in Ogrish (meaning The Sons of Nak, an Ogre War God) are often abandoned at a young age and struggle to blend into Orcish and Ogre clans. There are a number of rare Makk'nakeem clans fighting for existence in their Grollar mountains. Most of the half-breeds find fast allies in the Horde Pact as a whole however, whos non-discriminatory policy about the half-breeds descends from a healthy respect for their innate strength. Subspecies: Morphologically unusual/distinct populations of species that remain seperated from the main 'base' stock of a Species might find themselves upgraded to a Subspecies status, a list of which can be found here: Sentient Subspecies. Ethnicities: Populations of a Species that are distinct behaviourally or culturally are often referred to as Ethnicities. This is true mostly for Humanity, which has grown so rapidly over a relatively short space of time they have diverged into dozens of distinct Ethnicities. All known Ethnicities follow here: Ethnicities.